When an individual applies for a product or service with an entity, the entity often times requires credit information of the individual. The entity requests credit information for the individual from a credit bureau. Then the entity factors in credit information when negotiating the terms of the product or service with the individual. For example, an entity may present a loan with lower interest rates for individuals with higher credit scores than for individuals with lower credit scores. Credit information may also affect ancillary terms of an agreement. For example, the entity may require a different down payment for a real estate loan based on a credit score. When a credit bureau receives a request for credit information regarding a given consumer from a requesting entity, the bureau typically retrieves the relevant data from a credit database maintained by the bureau, generates a credit score (if requested), returns the credit data and score to the requesting entity, and may record additional information in the consumer's credit file (such as recording that a credit inquiry was received).
These and other features will now be described with reference to the drawings summarized above. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate certain embodiments and not to limit the scope of the invention. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements.